TEACHING PARABLES (1)

(Message by Tanny Keng)

0. Introduction

a) The parables of Jesus are found in the three synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke). They are short stories that teach a moral or spiritual lesson by analogy or similarity. They are often stories based on the agricultural life that was intimately familiar to His original first century audience. Some aspect of an unfamiliar concept, such as the kingdom of God, was compared to something from everyday life that could easily be understood.

b) It is the lesson of a parable that is important to us. The story is not important in itself; it may or may not be literally true.

c) Jesus was the master of teaching in parables. His parables often have an unexpected twist or surprise ending that catches the reader's attention. They are also cleverly designed to draw listeners into new ways of thinking, new attitudes and new ways of acting.

I. Teaching Parables

A. About the Kingdom of God

1. The Soils

a) Matthew 13:3-8

i) 3 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. 6 But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. 8 But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. (Matthew 13:3-8 NKJV)

b) Other Gospel references

i) Mark: 4:4-8

ii) Luke: 5:5-8


The End ...

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